Can sellers charge restocking fees on Free Returns?

[saturdaycrush]

Hi all, I ordered the wrong item by accident Saturday night (wrong model, was my mistake) and submitted a cancellation request minutes after. After sending two messages to the seller, he/she outright ignored me and today marked the item as shipped anyway. Now I'm going to be stuck with a $325 monitor that doesn't fit my specific needs.

The listing shows "Free 30-Day Returns," however the item description states:

Returns: We Stand behind all of our items, therefore if you receive an item thats damaged or defective we'll accept the return UNLESS the item was described as damaged or defective. We Offer free returns which includes a shipping label. We also charge a restocking fee on buyer remorse returns. If the item is not in the same condition we reserve the right to hold back up to 50% of the sale. 

Because this item says Free 30-Day Returns, is the seller allowed to charge a re-stocking fee?

[sam9876]

Restocking fees are not allowed.

[orangehound · Accepted solution]

A seller cannot use the partial refund feature to recoup shipping costs or charge restocking fees.  It is no surprise that you got no response and that they have this restocking fee note in their listings ... this is not a good seller, which can be easily seen from his terrible 97.4% feedback rating.

Here is the policy language from this link:

Misuse of this feature

This feature is incentive for you to provide buyers with exceptional experiences, such as offering free returns. This feature may not be used to recoup market losses on items returned in the same condition or recoup return shipping and restocking fees. It may only be used to recoup losses when an item is returned in a different condition than the original item. Sellers who misuse this feature may be subject to a range of actions, such as losing access to this feature, or suspension from buying, selling, or using other site features.

[saturdaycrush]

Really appreciate the help, guys. Based on that policy, it really sounds like this seller is trying to take advantage of buyers. Will return this item and let eBay handle the rest. 

[orangehound]

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@saturdaycrush wrote:

Really appreciate the help, guys. Based on that policy, it really sounds like this seller is trying to take advantage of buyers. Will return this item and let eBay handle the rest. 

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The buyer will likely try to charge the restocking fee by holding back 50% of the refund amount.  Should this happen, you can appeal the refund amount ... make sure you call up eBay and point out how the seller is violating eBay policies with the information in their listings.

[buyselljack2016]

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@saturdaycrush wrote:

Really appreciate the help, guys. Based on that policy, it really sounds like this seller is trying to take advantage of buyers. Will return this item and let eBay handle the rest. 

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The seller will probably withhold up to 50% when you return your item claiming that for some reason it is not the same as when sent.

Had that happen late last year on an INAD purchase. 

I had to appeal that to eBay to recover the amount withheld.

After it happens, you will not be able to leave less than positive feedback for the seller, but getting the refund is more important than feedback.

[saturdaycrush]

Thanks for the help, it's much appreciated.

I've called ebay to report this issue and they found it incredibly odd how the seller outright ignored all my communication. They even saw the messages I sent the seller to try and get his attention. They said to contact them again the day after I receive it to begin the return process, to make sure I get all of my money back. I also reported the seller's shady restocking fee policy and they documented it. Hoping for the best at this point.

[oldwestgold]

Yes, the seller can charge up to 50% on remorse returns. Not that I would, but I just got off chat with an eBay CS and this is exactly what they told me.

"Sadly, we no longer allow restocking fees. But if you offer 30 day free returns you can issue less then a full refund up to 50%."

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@oldwestgold wrote:

Yes, the seller can charge up to 50% on remorse returns. Not that I would, but I just got off chat with an eBay CS and this is exactly what they told me.

"Sadly, we no longer allow restocking fees. But if you offer 30 day free returns you can issue less then a full refund up to 50%."

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This is only to be done if they item is sent back in a different condition